CAT: Dec 2007 Exam Tips (BPP)

BPP
CAT Exam Tips
December 2007

Paper 1 Exam Tips

Because the exam is entirely multiple choice it is easier for the examiner to cover the whole syllabus of 1 in any one sitting. The following topics are however key topics and we would expect them to appear somewhere on the paper.

• Understanding and accounting for various business transactions, eg sales, purchases, expenses, trade and settlement discounts
• Transaction documentation: invoices, credit notes, statements etc
• Basic VAT
• Cash handling (eg petty cash, recording in the cash book)
• Posting to the general ledger (debits and credits)
• Bank reconciliations
• Sales/purchase ledger reconciliations
• Capital v revenue expenditure

Paper 2 Exam Tips

The ACCA don’t issue complete past exams so it is difficult to try to predict what will come up. The exam is entirely multiple choice it is easier for the examiner to cover the whole syllabus of 1 in any one sitting. This means that you will need to cover the whole syllabus and make sure that you have a good breadth of knowledge, covering the main areas i.e.

• Using computer systems safely and effectively
• Security, confidentiality and legal issues
• Management information
• Income and expenditure and comparisons
• Decision making

Paper 3 Exam Tips

• Sales ledger reconciliation/suspense accounts
• Accounting standards and principles
• Sole trader accounts
• Trial balance adjustments/errors in accounts

Paper 4 Exam Tips

• Cost classification and behaviour/nature and purpose of management information
• Elements of cost with marginal/absorption costing
• Process/job costing
• Decision making

Paper 5 Exam Tips

• Business and accounting environment
• Internal controls and MIS
• Motivation, leadership/teams
• Personal planning and communication
• Health and Safety at work, and security

Paper 6 Exam Tips

• Preparation of financial statements for a limited company/non-current assets
• Conceptual and regulatory framework/notes to the accounts
• Consolidated balance sheet/ratios
• Cash flow statement

Paper 7 Exam Tips

• Principles of cost accounting/collecting and analysing cost information
• Variance analysis
• Forecasting/time series
• Decision making scenario/cost management/performance indicators

Paper 8 Exam Tips

• Regulatory framework/third parties
• Audit of balance sheet items/testing
• Accounting systems/control cycles
• Audit completion – analytical review/report qualifications

Paper 9 Exam Tips

• Income tax computation, investment & income tax payments for self-employed
• Income from employment, NICs
• Corporation Tax calculation of losses and CGT shares computation, with reliefs/CT administration
• VAT administration and registration, tax points

Paper 10 Exam Tips

• Capital investment appraisal techniques – discounting and non-discounting
• Debtors management – credit information and terms
• Cash and liquidity budgeting/management, cash cycle
• Sources of finance, short to long term/capital markets/gearing and EPS